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PersonVotedDown t1_ix40lnq wrote

I swear no matter how much or how little I spend I can only get 5 years out of a belt. I finally gave up on leather and am trying a webbed belt.

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BitByBitcoin t1_ix439fo wrote

Are you sure you’re buying real leather belts? I bought my belts from AZ belt and I believe they have a 20 year warranty. I’ve had them for about a year or so and they’re all in great shape.

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Jaded-Distance_ t1_ix45q3p wrote

And by "real" he means full grain not genuine. 5 years doesn't actually sound that bad. Before I discovered full grain I'd get maybe 2 years tops out of a belt.

It also helps to get more than 1 and alternate them, and hang them up when not in use. As well as use conditioner on them.

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tjx-1138 t1_ix5fss8 wrote

I had zero luck with leather belts before I discovered Thirteen50. I've heard a bunch of other people have great luck with Saddleback Leather belts.

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teacherofderp t1_ix5gzpl wrote

The terms "full grain" and "genuine" don't really mean much, at least in the US. You might as well say it's organic.

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bluesatin t1_ix5vi9m wrote

But full-grain leather is genuine leather?

Genuine leather just means something is made from actual leather and isn't faux-leather.

I know a lot of people commonly repeat that it's a grade of leather, but that's not true, it's just a broad category to give to all types of actual animal based leather.

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maboyles90 t1_ix6uqjn wrote

Full grain is genuine, but genuine is more often not full grain.

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bluesatin t1_ixanvt0 wrote

Sure, that was my kind of my point; no idea why I was downvoted.

I was just pointing out that was the person I was replying to made no sense, since you can't avoid buying genuine leather if you want full-grain.

The only way what they were saying made any sense is if they thought genuine leather was a 'grade' of leather like full-grain is, which is some nonsense that keeps getting repeated for some reason.

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maboyles90 t1_ixap5qb wrote

I mean, your didn't really say that. The point they were making is that "genuine leather" is marketing jargon to say 'yes there's leather here." It says nothing about the quality.

That's like Cheez-its saying they're made with real cheese. Sure cheese was involved at some point in the process, but the final product shares no similarities to cheese.

And in a sub about buying something to last for life. We want the real cheese.

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nstarleather t1_ixaqlkt wrote

Yes but “real cheese” is made with real cheese so if you say “don’t buy anything made with real cheese” then no cheese at all for you.

Same with genuine leather, if you say “don’t buy genuine leather” then you’ve excluded all real leather full grain or otherwise.

The problem is that full grain>top grain>genuine breakdown just is a shortcut that kinda works when reading brief descriptions but not a true “grading scale” as the internet portrays it.

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wrathek t1_ix4eiaq wrote

Try a belt from Hanks Belts. They are solid leather, super thick.

Most “leather” is bonded garbage that’s loosely sewn or glued together, which will indeed fall apart over time. These belts (and others like them) are solid leather, much closer to a saddle. (You ever hear of saddle leather falling apart in 5 years?)

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SlapJohnson t1_ix510g4 wrote

Got a belt from Hanks about a year ago and absolutely love it.

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HalfysReddit t1_ix53gbj wrote

Honestly the thing is you can't go to a typical retail store and buy a leather belt. They sell "genuine leather" belts, but "genuine leather" can literally be cardboard wrapped in vinyl (so it looks like leather but that's it). Despite its name, "genuine leather" is actually the lowest quality material that can be legally advertised as leather.

I bought my belt from a biker looking dude at the farmers market like eight years ago, it's warped a little from the way pants pull on it but it's still going strong, and I honestly can't imagine it will break in my lifetime. I'm sure there are online specialty shops that sell real leather belts.

Leather is a very strong material, your body weight really isn't enough to break it, so if your belts aren't holding up then it's most likely because they're not actually leather. A good leather belt is a buy it for multiple lifetimes product.

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bluesatin t1_ix5wwwd wrote

Genuine leather just means something is actual leather and not faux-leather, it's not some sort of grade of low-grade leather like people commonly repeat for some reason.

Something like full-grain leather is considered genuine leather.

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HalfysReddit t1_ix696fp wrote

Yes but if the best thing you can say about your product is it meets the legal criteria for being called leather, it brings to question why that would be your selling point.

There are grades of leather, and yes you could call them all genuine, in practice anything advertised as "genuine leather" instead of "top grain leather" or "full grain leather" is just meeting the minimum legal standard for calling itself leather.

You can definitely make a product that is 99% cardboard and plastic and 1% animal hide and call it genuine leather. Pretty much every cheap fast-fashion belt I've ever seen was built this way.

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nstarleather t1_ix6aphb wrote

Actual labeling laws won’t let you label a mostly plastic product “leather” the worst leather you’ll see called “genuine” (if they’re not breaking the law) will be something called a “finished split” which is basically painted suede.

Calling each type of leather a grade is actually the biggest myth in the industry. You can't contact a tannery to buy "genuine leather" as a specific thing.

All leather is Genuine, all leather that's not suede (bottom split) is top grain and top grain that hasn't been sanded (corrected) is full grain. The terms encompass one another.

The breakdown you sometimes see calling genuine, top grain and full grain grades is actually more like: "This is the worst you can expect with each of these terms in the description"...but unfortunately people have taken it as each term being a separate distinct type of leather which from an industry standpoint is simply not true; you can't call up a tannery and buy "genuine leather". So it's entirely possible for a company to say "genuine leather" in their brief description and then say top grain or full grain (and even more descriptors) when you click further (this was the case with an Article couch I bought).

There are also makers in other categories that use it just to separate it from synthetic Red Wing is a good example with an excellent reputation and they actually own a tannery: https://imgur.com/a/Tdtbjge

The “quick and dirty” full grain>top grain>genuine really only applies when you can’t find more info about the tannery or company making the item. There are top grain leathers and even suedes that come from top tier tanneries that I’d take any day over “full grain” cheap tanneries making leather for some of the big “fashion”brands.

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PowerandSignal t1_ix59ynx wrote

Ithaca?

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HalfysReddit t1_ix5cgpa wrote

I'm honestly not familiar with that.

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PowerandSignal t1_ix6fh04 wrote

It's a pretty lively farmers market in the city of Ithaca, NY. I've gotten some belts from a biker looking dude there. They're great! But I guess there's more than one biker looking dude selling leather products at farmers markets.

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HalfysReddit t1_ix6ve0o wrote

Oh lol, no this was in Maryland and I've seen the dude there years later so I'm pretty sure he's a local.

Does not shock me at all that bikers selling leather goods would be a common farmer's market staple haha

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Goodspot t1_ix4glbl wrote

Get an aker belt, I wear a b10 and a b13, the b13 was inherited from a friend I met in the service, he was the second owner, it was worn on deployments to Mogadishu and still looks real good after a meeting with some saddle soap. It's at least 15 years old.

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__init__2nd_user t1_ix4pf69 wrote

Indeed. I bought a fancy (presumed not long lasting) belt from banana republic 7 years ago. And it’s still going strong.

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baconbananapancakes t1_ix41q14 wrote

That’s interesting! I don’t know much about leather. Could it be climate you live in, or conditions you wear it in? I’m in a very cold, dry area and find I have to condition leather for it to not breakdown, in a way I never had to do in other parts of the world.

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admiralspark t1_ix4vpy6 wrote

You have to get single piece leather belts. Ive seen double-layer $120 belts fall apart on the welt, but I'm on year 12 of a single piece leather $30 one that's still going strong.

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waehrik t1_ix57ssj wrote

Double layer is fine as long as both layers are full grain leather. I have the Hank's double bison belt (two layers of buffalo hide, it's really thick) and it's insanely durable. It took a while to stretch and settle in but I expect it to outlast me. It comes with a lifetime warranty if by some fluke it doesn't.

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admiralspark t1_ix58bdm wrote

I'll have to look into that one. I've had many, many double-layer belts fail from the welt ripping or just falling apart, I'd like to find one that lasts!

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seanshoots t1_ix52vv5 wrote

Same used to happen to me. I was buying ties on AliExpress one day and the seller also sold belts. I ordered one ($12 USD) and it's the best belt I've ever had, worn pretty much every weekday since 2015 and it still looks brand new. It has a different mechanism to hold on - a sliding latch thing instead of holes.

The store was called "Hi-Tie Men's Store", PM me if you want a direct link.

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JayString t1_ix674kw wrote

Really? I bought 3 random belts from a thrift store when I was 14 (age I started wearing them).

I still use 2 of them regularly today, 20 years later.

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tornato7 t1_ix56d8v wrote

I wear mission belts, and while the "leather" lasts around 5 years, the buckle lasts forever and you can easily swap out the leather.

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